This phased array antenna can be used for multiband, multifunction ultra-wide band apertures. It offers ultra-wide bandwidth, low cost of manufacture and other features that are not all found together in any other phased array:
· Octave (2:1 or 67%) bandwidth with active VSWR < 2:1 for all scan angles 30 degrees from broadside.
· Graceful degradation outside of this band and scan volume.
· Multiple rows and columns of printed circuit elements etched on the same substrate panel.
· "Tile" element layout provide cost savings compared to other wideband arrays.
· Equilateral triangular lattice and minimum number of elements for grating lobe free operation.
· Much less than one-quarter wavelength thickness over ground plane
· Transmit and receive: low VSWR and low loss provides efficiency.
· Electronically switched polarization diversity, linear or circular polarization.
· Electronic beam scanning or multiple beam capability.
· Flat profile, covert, compact and portable.
· Gain, beamwidth, and sidelobes determined by number of elements and array illumination taper.
This radiating antenna element is designed for a planar array of identical elements with periodic spacing. The resulting phased array antenna can be scanned to form a narrow, high gain beam in any direction within a scan cone. It provides more than one octave (67%) of bandwidth with scan, which is very wideband for a phased array; this performance had previously only been possible with much more expensive and thicker arrays. Figure 1 below shows recent computed results using HFSS software. The broadside reflection coefficient for this circularly polarized array is seen to be very low over more than one octave. This design can be scaled and optimized for any 2:1 frequency band.
